Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

5 days went by in a flash as the time of the Cave of Frost's opening had arrived. In these 5 days, he took the time to deal with his internal thoughts regarding the girl named Shumi, his master, and the Moon Goddess.

The Demons had taken her away, that much was confirmed. As for where he had no idea. He couldn't even imagine how many different places there were in the Immortal realms where demons lived.

Godslayer spat out a few names while grumbling, like Eclipsing Heaven, Eternal Isles, Mystic Demon realm, Frozen Haven, Infernal Realm, and many others, but he could not tell which one of them it was that the girl had been taken to.

And it didn't matter to Alex either when he truly thought about it.

What was he going to do after finding out? Go to her? Go to a place where Divine realm demons were present? The same demons that most likely had an inborn hatred of Humans.

Alex would have to find some other way or wait until he was strong enough where he wouldn't have to worry about a Divine realm demon.

"How long would that take?" he wondered. For now, he had to focus on the cave and do his best to learn about Yin. That was what he had to focus on right now.

They flew through the air on a large boat this time, the Queen coming with him.

The Cave of Frost's opening wasn't as large a deal as the Golden Auction or Realm of Trial. It barely even got as many participants as the Endless Shadow Aybss, despite the fact that it only appeared once every decade or a decade and a half.

They went through a snowstorm, a strong barrier holding back the destructive air and the chilling snow from the ship. The front of their vision was completely covered up in the blizzard as well.

They were mostly blind to where they were going, but the one that was piloting the ship knew where they were going, so no one was worried.

That wasn't to say no one was on guard. After what had happened to Alex the last time he left King's city, the security had been improved and their attention sharpened.

They were constantly on guard for anything and everything that would come from somewhere. They weren't going to let their guest be stolen like last time.

Half an hour later, the storm parted away, and it gave a view of the Evening Mist Lake spanning hundreds of kilometers wide to the north. Alex looked to the side. The lake looked dark in daylight with no light shining off it as the day was cloudy.

Alex could see people gathering on the eastern side of the lake near a small mound of ice and rock. The Ice Mist Palace to the south was still covered in somewhat of a mist, but it was far thinner than the last time he had come here at night.

The Evening Mist lake only brought out mist in the evening after all.

The ship made its way toward the east where the people were gathered and landed with a soft thump on the pile of snow.

Alex jumped from the ship, landing on the snow down below, his feet sticking in the snow down to his knees. He was surprised to see how much fresh snow it was here. He floated up a bit and stepped on top of the snow and waited for the others to get down.

"I'll go deal with the Cave's opening along with the sect masters," the Queen said. "You will have to wait while we work to get it open."

"You have to open it?" Alex asked.

The Queen nodded. "We can't tell when it will open naturally," she said, pointing toward the snow and rock mound in the distance. "So, we have to push it a little to open towards the end so we can determine the time of entry."

Alex looked toward the snow and rock mounds and saw what she was pointing toward.

The mounds weren't there for nothing. They had holes in them that were completely covered in ice. He could tell what those openings led to. "So that's the Cave?" he asked.

The Queen nodded. "There are multiple entrances, with many different routes inside. But we believe they all go to the same place in the center. It gets colder the deeper you go in there," she said.

"Wait, regardless of length?" he asked. "Are you not judged based on who goes the furthest?"

"Uhh, not really, no," the Queen said. "We simply judge the progress based on the coldness that is recorded through a talisman that we send with you," she answered.

"Ah, I see," Alex said. "That makes sense."

"Anyway, I will leave, for now, Your Majesty," the Queen said. "I need to go help them."

She didn't wait for Alex's approval and went on by herself, leaving him behind with the two Elders and a few other people she had brought along.

Alex walked through the snow, slowly making his way toward the cave. He looked around the place, the canvas of white and black filled only by color with humans.

People wearing robes of all colors sat around in the snow, waiting for the cave doors to open.

Alex went close by and sat.

People turned to stare at him, many noticing who he was, talking to themselves. He had left quite an impression back in the Realm of Trails by completely passing three different trials, a feat that had never happened before. If it had, it had been lost to time already.

"Mostly girls, huh?" Alex said softly after seeing the demographic of the people assembled. Over 80% of them were females.

"Girls are closer to Yin than men, so it is no surprise," Liang Shufen said from his side. "Still, there are more boys than I expected. Surely not all of them are here to learn Yin."

"They're here to test themselves," Elder Yao said. "It's obvious. You can see the look in their eyes. They are ready to test their limits. Although, I am surprised to see many girls with the same fire in them."

Alex chuckled, letting the two of them talk about things while he just listened. More and more people arrived in time, sitting as close to the cave as they could without disturbing anyone.

There were a few that seemed to be wanting to talk to him, but none came forward. There was one girl in particular who kept eyeing him from far away.

He wondered if she had fallen for him or something, but he let go of that thought process. It sounded quite narcissistic of him, even if he was good-looking altogether.

He turned when he heard a loud snap and turned to see something. Of the 8 different cave openings, the ice on one of them had been shattered open, releasing a cold wind that made the outside air feel like a summer breeze.

People stirred, but the Queen spoke out loud.

"No one enters until all of the doors are open." Then, she moved to the other doors and started working with the other sect masters to destroy those as well.